Chelsea Clinton’s TV News Debut

Even though she’s been in the public eye for almost 20 years, tonight, at approximately 6:55pmET, most Americans had the chance to hear Chelsea Clinton for the first time. The daughter of a former President of the United States and a sitting Secretary of State, famous for not being famous, Clinton began her stint tonight as a special correspondent for NBC News. On the “Nightly News” set with Brian Williams, Clinton wrapped a cut-down version of a longer “Making a Difference” report that will air tonight on “Rock Center.” If you’d tuned in as the story was airing you might think a seasoned journalist was delivering the report — her questions were direct, the writing was succinct, her voice has a built-in broadcast quality (or she’s taken a crash course in Broadcast Diction 101) but the cutaways of Clinton made a difference in this report. This was not some reporter brought up from the NBC farm team in Miami or Chicago.

Clinton’s hire as a special correspondent has faced criticism from those whose life’s work is media criticism. NBC News president Steve Capus signed Clinton to a three-month contract to see how this all plays out.

“It helps to tell their stories which I know is why you’re here, and we have months yet to talk about all kinds of things,” said Williams. “We’re so happy to have you here.”